Chapter 7, Section

Chapter 7

Civilizations of the Americas

(1400 B.C.–A.D. 1570)

Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved.

World History: Connection to Today

Chapter 7, Section

Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved.

Chapter 7: Civilizations of the Americas

(1400 B.C.–A.D. 1570)

Section 1: Civilizations of Middle America

Section 2: The World of the Incas

Section 3: Peoples of North America

World History: Connection to Today

Chapter 7, Section

Civilizations of Middle America

• How did geography affect the development

of cultures in the Americas?

• What were the main features of Olmec and

Mayan civilizations?

• How did the Aztec culture develop?

1

Chapter 7, Section

Geography of the Americas

1

Chapter 7, Section

Settling the Americas

Some 30,000 years ago, Paleolithic hunters crossed a land bridge to reach North America from Asia.

About 10,000 B.C., global warming killed off game animals and forced the nomadic hunter-gatherers to migrate eastward and southward across the Americas.

The first Americans adapted to a variety of climates and resources, ranging from the hot, wet climate near the Equator to icy, treeless lands in the far north.

1

Chapter 7, Section

Were the earliest American civilization

Had powerful priests and aristocrats at the top of society

Built ceremonial centers

Spread influence through trade

Developed calendar

Introduced tradition of priestly leadership and religious devotion

Developed complex irrigation

methods for farming

Built towering pyramid temples

in Tikal

Traded extensively across

Middle America

Developed hieroglyphic writing

system

Developed accurate calendar

and numbering system

Abandoned cities around A.D.

900

The Olmecs and the Mayas

OLMECS MAYAS

1

Chapter 7, Section

Arrival of the Aztecs

• In the late 1200s, nomadic ancestors of the Aztecs

migrated into the Valley of Mexico.

• The Aztecs built the city of Tenochtitlán.

• In the 1400s, the Aztecs greatly expanded their

territory through conquests and alliances.

1

By 1500, the Aztec empire spread from the Gulf of

Mexico to the Pacific Ocean and numbered 30

million people.

Chapter 7, Section

Aztec Society

Priests recorded Aztec

knowledge and ran

schools for sons of

nobles.

Some priests were

astronomers or

mathematicians.

Priests were a special

class.

The sun god was the chief

Aztec god.

Aztecs practiced human

sacrifice on a massive

scale.

The empire had a single

ruler.

Slaves could own and buy

freedom.

Long-distance traders

traveled around the

empire and beyond.

LEARNING RELIGION GOVERNMENT &

SOCIETY

1

Chapter 7, Section

Which of the following was an effect of global warming on

the Americas?

a) The game-animal population increased.

b) Nomadic peoples migrated eastward and

southward.

c) All traces of human life disappeared.

d) Nomadic peoples killed off all the game animals.

Which group practiced large-scale human sacrifice?

a) the Olmecs

b) the Mayas

c) the Aztecs

d) the Incas

Section 1 Assessment

1

Want to connect to the World History link for this section? Click Here.

Chapter 7, Section 1

Section 1 Assessment

Which of the following was an effect of global warming on

the Americas?

a) The game-animal population increased.

b) Nomadic peoples migrated eastward and

southward.

c) All traces of human life disappeared.

d) Nomadic peoples killed off all the game animals.

Which group practiced large-scale human sacrifice?

a) the Olmecs

b) the Mayas

c) the Aztecs

d) the Incas

Want to connect to the World History link for this section? Click Here.

Chapter 7, Section

The World of the Incas

• What were the main achievements of the

early peoples of Peru?

• How did Incan emperors extend and

maintain their empire?

• How did the Incas live?

2

Chapter 7, Section

Early Peoples of Peru

Etched glyphs in the

desert. A glyph is a

pictograph or symbol

carved into a surface.

Were skilled farmers who

developed methods of

terracing, irrigation, and

fertilization of the soil

Organized relay-runners

to carry messages Perfected skills in textile

production, goldwork, and

woodcarving

Built huge temple

complex

Worshiped ferocious-

looking god

Chavin art and religion

influenced later

peoples of Peru

NAZCA MOCHICA CHAVIN

2

Chapter 7, Section

The Incan Empire

• They ran an efficient government with a chain of

command reaching to every village.

• They imposed their own language and religion on the

people.

• They created one of the great road systems in history,

allowing armies and news to travel rapidly around the

empire.

• They posted runners throughout the empire to carry

news of revolts and soldiers to quickly crush them.

• They prohibited ordinary people from using the roads

at all.

The Incas built a complex civilization that relied on

order and absolute authority.

2

Chapter 7, Section

Incan Government

2

Chapter 7, Section

Daily Life

• The Incas strictly regulated the lives of millions of people

within their empire

• Government officials arranged marriages.

• Community leaders assigned jobs to each family and organized

the community to work the land.

• Farmers had to spend part of each year working land for the

emperor and the temples.

• Government officials controlled the harvest.

2

Chapter 7, Section

Who was prohibited from using the roads of the Incan empire?

a) the army b) messengers c) ordinary people d) the Sapa Inca

Who controlled harvests in the Incan empire?

a) farmers b) government officials c) priests d) soldiers

Section 2 Assessment

2

Want to connect to the World History link for this section? Click Here.

Chapter 7, Section

Section 2 Assessment

2

Who was prohibited from using the roads of the Incan empire?

a) the army b) messengers c) ordinary people d) the Sapa Inca

Who controlled harvests in the Incan empire?

a) farmers b) government officials c) priests d) soldiers

Want to connect to the World History link for this section? Click Here.

Chapter 7, Section

Peoples of North America

• How did people in the desert southwest

adapt to their environment?

• How did the culture of the Mound Builders

reflect their contact with other regions?

• How did the diverse regional cultures in the

Americas differ from one another?

3

Chapter 7, Section

The Desert Southwest

• More than 1,000 years ago, the Hohokams farmed the

deserts of Arizona by building a complex irrigation

system.

• The Anasazi built large villages, later called pueblos

by the Spanish. Later on, to protect themselves from

invaders, they built and lived in housing complexes in

the canyon walls, known as cliff dwellings.

3

Chapter 7, Section

The Mound Builders

The Adina and Hopewell people settled in the Mississippi

Valley and build giant earthen mounds.

Objects from the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes

region were found in the mounds, proving that traders

had contact with peoples from distant regions.

3

Chapter 7, Section

North American Culture Areas About 1450

3

Chapter 7, Section 3

Arctic/Subarctic

Beavers, Crees, Inuits, Kutchins Lived as nomadic hunters and food gatherers in cold

climate; honored ocean, weather, and animal spirits

California/Great Basin/Plateau

Nez Percés, Pomos, Shoshones Lived as hunters and gatherers in small family groups; ate

mainly fish, berries, acorns

Southwest

Apaches, Hohokams, Hopis, Navajos, Pueblos Lived in villages in homes made of adobe;

built irrigation systems to grow corn and other crops; honored earth, sky, and water spirits

Southeast

Cherokees, Natchez Grew corn, squash, beans, and other crops; held yearly Green Corn

Ceremony to mark end of year and celebrate harvest

Northwest Coast

Bella Coolas, Coos, Kwakiutls, Tlingits Lived in villages; benefited from rich natural

resources in forests, rivers, and ocean; held potlatches, or ceremonial dinners, where host

families gave gifts to guests to show wealth and gain status

Great Plains

Apaches, Arapahos, Blackfeet, Cheyennes, Comanches, Crows, Lakotas, Mandans,

OsagesLived in tepees; animals hunted by men; crops grown by women; relied on buffalo

to meet basic needs of food, shelter, and clothing

Eastern Woodlands

Algonquins, Chippewas, Hurons, Iroquois, Leni-Lenapes, Miamis, Pequots, Shawnees

Lived in farming villages, but also hunted for food; long houses shared by several families;

women held social and political power

North American Culture Areas About 1450

Chapter 7, Section

Section 3 Assessment

The Anasazi lived in cliff dwellings in order to

a) keep away from wild animals.

b) protect themselves from invaders.

c) be warmer at night.

d) control desert irrigation.

Who relied on buffalo to meet their basic needs?

a) people of the Southwest

b) people of the Southeast

c) people of the Eastern Woodlands

d) people of the Great Plains

3

Want to connect to the World History link for this section? Click Here.

Chapter 7, Section

Section 3 Assessment

3

The Anasazi lived in cliff dwellings in order to

a) keep away from wild animals.

b) protect themselves from invaders.

c) be warmer at night.

d) control desert irrigation.

Who relied on buffalo to meet their basic needs?

a) people of the Southwest

b) people of the Southeast

c) people of the Eastern Woodlands

d) people of the Great Plains

Want to connect to the World History link for this section? Click Here.